The weeklong Japanese Film Festival entitled “Theatrical Animations” with English sub-titles started here on Thursday at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) with the screening of “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”. The Japanese embassy and the PNCA are jointly organising the event that was earlier scheduled to be held on Wednesday but was delayed due to national mourning over the demise of PPP leader Begum Nusrat Bhutto. The festival was inaugurated by Hiroshi Oe, the Japanese ambassador to Pakistan, and his spouse Midori. On the first day 97-minute movie called The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was screened. Ambassadors of various countries, diplomats, politicians, bureaucrats, PNCA officials a large number of students from educational institutions of the twin cities attended the event.
Ambassador Hiroshi Oe said the Japanese Film Festival was the continuity of the tradition that had been started in 1995. He said the events were held in collaboration with the Japan Foundation. He was of the view that the festival would an opportunity to the people of Pakistan to witness various aspects of the Japanese lifestyle, culture and society. “This year, our embassy is holding the Japanese Animation Film Festival for the first time in Pakistan. The Japanese animation works are widely appraised and are known worldwide as ‘anime’. It is different from traditional animation films in terms of storylines and drawings. The themes and subjects of the anime are meant not only for the young audience but also the adults,” Oe maintained. The ambassador said the Japanese anime is known for its unique artistic style and deep emotional stories similar to the live-action cinema. The anime could be an adventure, science fiction, historical drama, children’s stories or fantasy, he added.
“I am very pleased to know that the Japanese anime is quite popular even in Pakistan. The anime cartoons such as Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Doraemon, and Naruto were very well known among the young people in Pakistan. And for those of you who will be watching the anime for the first time, it is definitely going to open a new window for you”, Oe said. He asked the audience if they had ever wished to go back to the past to change the future events for the greater good. Then he narrated the theme of the movie in which a Japanese girl would be shown traveling through the time. The ambassador expressed his gratitude for its assistance in holding the event.
“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is a Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. This film was released in 2006 and won numerous awards including the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The movie depicts 17-year-old Makoto Konno who gains the ability to leap through time to the past to correct the present and the coming future. However, she soon realises that changing the past is not as simple as it might seem, and eventually, comes to rely on her new powers to shape the future of her and her friends. And most importantly she learns how precious the time is. The Japanese Film Festival is one of the most popular cultural events arranged by the Embassy of Japan. This year the festival aims at introducing the Japanese Anime to the people of Pakistan. The festival will be open exclusively to school children and the public on November 1 and 2 at the National Art Gallery (NAG) Auditorium of the PNCA. On November 1, the same movie” will be screened, while on November 2, a 138 minutes movie named “Summer days with Coo” will be shown. On November 4, a Japanese children cultural programme will be held at the same venue.
Japan Film Festival starts at PNCA with fiction anime
